Ixe's Custom Units

[Scytale]

I feel that the Dragonshields are overly matchup-dependent. Bonding with Ana Karithon already gives them a boost against Utgar units, and Smite Evil compounds that. It gives them the same problem that terrain-specific units have: they are costed for the ideal scenario. Outside of an Utgar/Valkrill counterdraft they don't really provide anything all that interesting and are somewhat overpriced. They do capture the theme you're going for well. I don't think giving them a dragonborn power is necessary, but allowing one to use a Rhogar-like breath attack each turn would give them a nice boost.

[Ixe]

Thanks for the comments. I must admit that they weren't sitting that great with me. I knew they were swingy and match up dependent, but I was rationalizing that that was okay. Heroscape certainly has its fair share of that as it is.

Lately, however, I've been looking more and more into game design and what goes in to designing for an established game. Game designers and developers aren't immutable of mistakes and it is possible to learn from previous designs and try to improve future ones. Rather than resigning myself to a unit that would be particularly narrow, I decided to go ahead and take a crack at the breath power that I felt I wanted to give them in the first place. The wording is a mix betweeen Rhogar's Breath and how the Ashigaru Yari specify their special attack. It should serve to round them out a bit more at the very least.

[Ixe]

My single power Sci-Fi wave and Devil Faction both really inflated the number of Utgar, Vydar, and Valkrill units that I have designed. I think I'll try to round things out a bit more for a little while.

This is Pazuzu from Pathfinder Miniatures Lost Coast.



Text Form

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = Tetrarch Warlord
GENERAL = Einar
PLANET = Marr
SPECIES = Raptoran
CLASS = Warlord
PERSONALITY = Disciplined
SIZE = Large 6
UNIQUE HERO

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 6
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 150

ENGAGEMENT STRIKE 13
If an opponent's small or medium figure moves adjacent to Tetrarch Warlord, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 13 or higher, the opponent's figure receives 1 wound. Figures may be targeted only as they move into engagement with Tetrarch Warlord.

EVASIVE 3
When rolling defense dice against an attacking figure who is not adjacent, add 3 defense dice to Tetrarch Warlord.

FLYING
When counting spaces for Tetrarch Warlord's movement, ignore elevations. Tetrarch Warlord may fly over water without stopping, fly over figures without becoming engaged, and fly over obstacles such as ruins. When Tetrarch Warlord starts to fly, if he is engaged he will take any leaving engagement attacks.

The Marro and Vipers are not the only race on Marr that shows genetic diversity. Some within Raptoran society are selectively bred to the extreme, culminating in the Tetrarch Warlord. Trained since birth, this warlord shows discipline and skill to match his size over his kin. His four wings keep him aloft and allow him to move through the air nimbly, deftly avoiding attacks from afar. If the enemy instead decides to close, his venomous stinger lashes out reflexively and can drop them before they approach. Meanwhile, he puts his strength to use for skewering opponents on his great spear.

Looking over the raptorans, it feels pretty clear that you'd need to be a little more liberal with what could be included in the faction if they are ever to expand. D&D miniatures had made a grand total of three kenku figures, all of which are being used by VC. They're not exactly abundantly represented in other games, or at least not in the same way, so it's necessary to broaden what's acceptable. I think the scorpion tail puts it a little further out there, but I'm okay with some kind of genetic or magical manipulation explanation.

The build itself is just really solid. He hits hard and can hold up well to ranged attacks with Evasive. I have thought before that, in some ways, powers like a high Evasive or Stealth Dodge can even be better than something like Thorian Speed. The fact that there is a chance to hit means that the opponent may effectively waste attacks that would otherwise go to other targets. 6 Defense isn't unstoppable, but he's looking pretty robust with 6 life as well. Engagement strike makes him a nightmare to melee as well, particularly threatening against squads. However, his defense is low enough that he's in a bit of trouble should a powerful hero close into melee with him. Furthermore, having a melee attack himself forces him to forgo his engagement strike in order to attack. It may not matter that much against squads, but he'll still get tied down against a sturdy hero.

As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

[Scytale]

I like the Engagement Strike - Evasive combo. It's a neat combination for a unit. I think the 11 for Engagement Strike is much too low, however. With a little luck he could tear a melee army to shreds. It shouldn't be as high as 50%; Engagement Strike is a potent power just as a threat.

[Ixe]

Thanks for commenting. I was seeing it as a dial that could be turned as needed, so I have no problem switching it over to the standard 13. I agree that it is a frightening power against squads since it not only can kill their figures but deny them attacks in the first place.

[Ixe]

I felt like there was one missing in this cycle, so let's take a crack at rounding it out.

This is Ashan-Tyr from Rackham Miniatures - Wolfen of Yilla.


NAME = Tauri
GENERAL = Aquilla
PLANET = Grut
SPECIES = Wolf
CLASS = Champion
PERSONALITY = Tricky
SIZE = Large 6
UNIQUE HERO

LIFE = 4
MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 100

DISENGAGE
Tauri is never attacked when leaving an engagement.

TIMED DEFENSE
When Tauri rolls defense dice against an attacking figure, add a number of defense dice to Tauri equal to the number of hits in the attack.

WARRIOR'S DEFENSE SPIRIT
When Tauri is destroyed, place this figure on a Unique Army Card with a Range of 1. Tauri's Spirit adds 1 to the defense number of that card.


Tauri is another champion hero for the Varkaanans. She is trickier than many of her kin, better able to maneuver around her opponent's ranks and strike out with her massive sword. When cornered, she has practiced the art of timing her defense against her opponents swing and use their own momentum against them for getting out of their way. If she were to pass, some of this defensive spirit could be passed on to her kind and help keep them safe from harm.

Tauri rounds out the cycle for the Varkaanans and provides her spirit to the last direct stat. Her defensive ability is interesting, where her defense increases against larger attacks. Rolling more skulls is still better for the attacker, but it let's her defense scale a bit with the difference and help keep her alive against some bigger swings. She otherwise kind of reminded me of a ninja, so I decided to make her a bit more sneaky and gave her disengage as well.

As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

[Scytale]

Tauri is a solid addition to the Varkaaran ranks. The combination of Timed Defense and Warrior's Defense Spirit paints a nice picture, and Disengage makes her useful. Timed Defense worried me a bit, though. I can't think of any problems (Lolth's Wrath does not allow defense rolls), but I'd have to go through the entire list of special attacks to be certain.

[MegaSilver]

Timed Defense? Sounds like C3G She-Hulk's power:

HARD BODY
When rolling defense dice, roll one additional die for each skull rolled by your opponent.

It's a good power but not overpowering. Funnily enough the more skulls your opponent rolls, it's still easier for their attack to get through.

[Ixe]

Thanks for the comments. I guess it is similar to Hard Body, although it is certainly themed a bit differently. I had considered that same type of wording but switched it to hits to keep her competitive against things like Deadly Strike and Ornak's aura. I'm glad the stats work out the way they do since I think rolling better should pretty much always be the thing that you want.

I'd be surprised if Timed Defense causes any issues against attacks. As long as she gets defense, it should work out. Even attacks that reduce defense depending on what's rolled, like the Varkanaan Quickblades, should just be simple arithmetic and effectively negate her and their respective powers power. If anything is themed in a weird way that the target doesn't get to block normally then no issue should even come up.

[IshMEL]

Just dropping by to say that I like Timed Defense a lot. I just may borrow it for another custom... BTW where is the name from?

[Ixe]

Originally Posted by IshMEL

Just dropping by to say that I like Timed Defense a lot. I just may borrow it for another custom... BTW where is the name from?

Timed Defense? I just made it up as something to represent her waiting for the perfect point in the attack to try to dive out of the way. Tauri was just a manipulation of the name "Tory" to make it more Varkaanan.

I'm glad you like it. Feel free to give it a go with your own customs.

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by Ixe

I'd be surprised if Timed Defense causes any issues against attacks. As long as she gets defense, it should work out. Even attacks that reduce defense depending on what's rolled, like the Varkanaan Quickblades, should just be simple arithmetic and effectively negate her and their respective powers power. If anything is themed in a weird way that the target doesn't get to block normally then no issue should even come up.

The thing with special attacks is that there are no rules. Nothing is off limits. Things like the order of operations is not necessarily set, nor are the normal rules for dishing out hits. Lolth's Wrath, for example, distributes wounds unevenly between targets one at a time. Fortunately it does not allow defense dice to be rolled, but that needn't be true. One could easily imagine a special attack that allows the player to distribute skulls between targets.